I don't have any problems to be solved (right now anyway ) I just wondered if anyone else owned iguanas? I have two green iguanas - Spike (original name, I know) who is about 16 years old and Jaws who is about 14 years old. I posted pix of them on the pictures forum. I bought Spike from a pet store and the people there told me he was 6 months old. I had done some research prior to getting him, but after doing more research I decided that he was probably closer to a year and maybe older when I got him. I bought Jaws from a family who didn't want her anymore. Her jaw is deformed (hence the name), and she was really skinny when I first saw her. The family told me that the jaw deformity didn't interfere with her eating but that she hadn't been getting any bigger. I didn't say anything, but I had already noticed that the food in her cage consisted of a chunk of roast beef, a whole strawberry and something else (I can't remember what). She was just a baby, and I knew that she couldn't have had a very easy time eating that stuff! Her little legs were like toothpicks. She is now a strong and healthy girl. I look forward to talking with any of you that have iguanas (or snakes, love snakes!).

I had an inguana named Spencer when I was younger. I had him from when he was a baby (maybe around 6 months) for two years... and he was HUGE for his age. I LOVED him... he would lay with my poodle and ride her back around the house. I have the pics... I need to scan them and I will show you! He was like a scaly green dog. You are bringing me back!!! I would love to get another one some day.

He died very young... I've always felt horrible about it. I was SO depressed for months, maybe even years when he died. I still get tears when I think about him...that may be stupid to some, but I really loved him. Sorry but this is gonna be long.

I saved all of my confirmation and birthday money and bought him a custom made glass house! It cost a couple of thousand dollars, and it was all the money I had as a kid- but I saved just for that and my parents knew it. So they let me buy it. It was six feet high, about 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep. It had levels, rooms etc... and best of all a waterfall with a rocky river running through. I put a hammock up for him and the chimney led to the roof where he could come out on his own if I wanted to leave it open. I even bought the BEST filter my money could buy for the river. The "specialists" told me I would have to clean it out every couple of months as it was for a big fish tank and I was using it for a simple river.

One day I went to take him out, and he jumped off the hammock to greet me, but his toe got caught and he tumbled into the river, scraping his stomach badly on the rocks. I brought him to the vet and got a topical solution. Over the course of a week he wouldn't eat, we had blood tests, I had needles to inject him with medicine and everything. I had to force feed him and he was withering away fast. I contacted everyone for advice... even the Zoos, I got in touch with the zookeeper from the San Diego Zoo and he told me that filter should be cleaned about 2 times a week!! I was so upset... he had gotten an infection from the water! By that time it was too late as I found him dead the following morning. My poodle sat by his house for days howling on and off... she was sad too- I'll never forget it.

That is so sad! When we first brought Jaws home Spike attacked her and almost ripped her tail off. I took her to the vet, but they couldn't stitch it up, they said that it had to heal from the inside out. I had to clean it everyday and then put this ointment on it. Before she got hurt, Jaws would let you pick her up and she loved her daily swims (in the tub). After she got hurt she wouldn't let anyone touch her. I think that she decided humans cause you pain, and even though it's been more than 13 years or so, she still won't let you touch her.

Iguanas average life span is 15 years. Mine are both vegetarians and have never had meat, so they will live a little longer, but I don't know how long.

Not sure about his age, I think he's probably around 6-7. I got him two years ago. Out of an ad in the newspaper. The people had two small children, who were really.. starting to aggrivate the iguana. So, they took out an ad. I was first come, first serve.. and loved him on sight. He's such a handsome lizard with all his orange coloring.

I LOVE Iguanas and any kind of lizard,but have only encountered them in the wild,often very close encounters
I have never had any desire to own one,would worry too much about not taking care of them properly,but they are beautiful creatures.
This is one on a beach in Mexico.I have a little one in my hand..
I am always concerned about"tourist Iguanas"....and what kind of life they have :sad:

Not sure about his age, I think he's probably around 6-7. He's such a handsome lizard with all his orange coloring.

I am thinking that he's a bit older than 6-7. Males develop the orange coloring as they age and his is pretty pronounced. Also, from what I can see on your photo, it looks like his cheek pouches (don't know what they are really called) are fairly large which also is an indicator of age. I would say he's probably closer to 10. Looks like he must be fairly calm too - good thing since he's so big - that tail would really hurt if he wasn't friendly!

Well I was told he was approximately 5 when I adopted him. And the owner's said he always had some orange coloring. Only reason they got rid of him, was the kids were starting to.. get a little too curious. He is really calm. He slept on my arm as I typed the other night, for a good half an hr, before he moved to my back and tried to climb on my head.

I had always been told that the orange showed up as they got older, but after your response I did some research on the net. All the sites I looked at said that the orange shows up during breeding season on mature males but it didn't give any age for when they reach that maturity. It also said that if your iguana keeps the orange coloring year round - they are most likely dehydrated or could have kidney problems. Spike, my male, never had any orange on him until just a few years ago - but now he has alot of orange and it never goes away. I'll be doing the other tests to see if he's dehydrated.

None of the vets here know anything about reptiles. I would have to transport mine to a city about 3 hours away if they needed vet care. Luckily the only thing either of them has needed a vet for was when Jaws was really young and Spike tried to rip her tail off. The vet here didn't do anything but gave me some antibiotic ointment to put on it since they couldn't stitch it up.

Our climate is really, really dry - and only gets worse in the summer. I have a humidifier for our house, but since the house has been torn up so bad, I haven't had room for it. I'll be moving their cage into a different room and making some changes that'll hopefully help with the humidity issue.

It'll be really nice to have someone to discuss iguana issues with. I did book research when I got my first one - but now that the internet has so much information I am finding that my earlier research is either outdated or the information was wrong to begin with!